Scottish Voices From the Great War

Derek Young

• Publisher: The History Press
• Year: 2016
• Print ISBN: 9780752439501
• eBook ISBN: 9780750979054
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Military & Maritime History
• Index: History

Scotland's response to the Great War has, up until now, largely been marginalized or ignored. With a proportionally higher number of volunteers than any other home nation, Scotland's youth played a significant part in Britain's war effort. Here is the first study of Scotland's response to the call to arms; the true story behind the raising, the training, life in the trenches and the sacrifices faced by those battalions raised in Scotland. This book focuses on the experiences of those who served in the Scottish divisions. Charting the course of emotions from initial enthusiasm in August 1914 through to outright disillusionment with the continuation of the war in 1917, the author clearly shows how life at the front line produced both physical and emotional changes in those caught up in the horrors of trench warfare.

1

Mobilise for War

Led by the pipes, the 1st Battalion Cameron Highlanders marched out through the gates of Edinburgh Castle, crossed the esplanade filled with cheering onlookers, and trooped down to the train station to embark for France. As they left to take their place with the British Expeditionary Force, crowds of friends and well-wishers gathered at the station to give them a send-off. The battalion was once more going to war. No one on that day realised that few of those leaving would ever return. Across the country, similar scenes were being played out as Scotland’s regular and Territorial battalions went through the process of mobilising for war.

On 4 August 1914 Great Britain had once again entered into a war in continental Europe. Troops were mobilised and Territorial units were sent to their war stations to protect bridges, aqueducts, railway lines and reservoirs. In an effort to bring the battalions up to strength, reservists were called back to the colours and issued with the necessary equipment while any shortfalls in men and equipment were quickly made good. Officers and men on leave were hurriedly recalled and returned to find regimental depots in the throes of organised chaos as battalions prepared to leave and new recruits flooded in, adding to the confusion. Trains, wagons and horses were commandeered. Trains were not only required to transport the men – the battalion transport train had also to be transported by rail. Horses and general service wagons had to be transported to ports of embarkation.

In stark contrast to the very public departure of the Camerons from Edinburgh, and of the equally public display of support, in Glasgow the 1st Battalion Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) mobilised with less fanfare. R.C. Money recalled that the battalion mobilised in five days, collecting reservists and spare equipment, then departed for Southampton without the fanfare and cheering crowds of well-wishers seen elsewhere:

Our send of[f] from Glasgow was singularly quiet because it took place in the middle of the night and we just slipped quietly out of the gates of Maryhill barracks and very few of us ever saw them again.

His diary also recalled that their departure clearly suffered from a lack of preparation. The battalion ‘left Glasgow in 4 trains, with cattle trucks. Cattle trucks “hopelessly inadequate” for the draft horses; several died.’ The roofs of the cattle trucks were too low for the heavy draft horses, and on arrival at Southampton a great number were found dead in the trucks. His fellow officer Captain R.H.W. Rose recorded that the battalion crossed the Channel on 14 August. We are told the battalion ‘embarked on SS Caledonia. Fine Anchor Line ship, very lucky, as many in pig boats, not told where going.’ Elsewhere, H.D. Clark noted that by 8 August the 2nd Battalion Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders had absorbed 600 reservists and was up to complement. The battalion left Fort George on 9 August and arrived at Southampton on the morning of 10 August. Mobilisation itself was not without incident. Clark recalled the chaos when the battalion left Fort George:

There was a scheme whereby horse owners in the area were subsidised throughout the years, in order that they would provide horses for transport of the battalion when required on mobilisation being ordered. Of course the horses were new to each other and had to be made up into teams and fitted with harness from the quartermasters store which was brand new and very stiff. As one can imagine it was very difficult to make up a happy team of horses to pull the various wagons and when we did eventually move down to entrain to go to war, our progress from Fort George to the station was like a rodeo which entertained the local inhabitants to a great extent.

It was clearly not expected that they would get up to strength so quickly, and when the battalion reached Southampton there was not enough room on the vessel allocated. One company had to remain behind for later onward travel. Clark also recalled that when the battalion landed in France ‘the great difficulty was to prevent the troops enjoying the hospitality of the villagers as we passed along because they put out buckets of red wine and so on for the troops to drink as they passed.’ Second Lieutenant J.C. Cunningham, serving alongside Clark, recalled one of the major difficulties associated with mustering Highland regiments:

We had a company of MacLean’s complete and 2 companies of Campbell’s and the others were mixed but at that time [outbreak of war] if you were in those companies you had to know the last three numbers of everybody in your company and the roll call was called by the last 3 numbers of the man’s number. We were all Campbell’s. So it was no good calling Campbell, Campbell, Campbell and they used to be called 591, 724.

The scene at Dingwall station when the Seaforth Highlanders entrained was one of calm efficiency as relatives and ex-soldiers gathered on the platform in an atmosphere of reflection to wish them a safe return, while the King’s Own Scottish Borderers, embarking from Dublin, also did so in an unhurried manner, reminiscent of a peacetime mobilisation exercise. War was declared in the atmosphere of a Bank Holiday weekend. Scotland was in the throes of the Trades Holidays – the annual summer holiday period – and in many cases the Scottish Territorial battalions had just completed their annual summer camp and were prepared, if not ready, to mobilise. The 6th Battalion Black Watch contained an Irish company, raised and based in Ireland:

These Irishmen formed a self-contained company and journeyed over to attend the annual training camps in Scotland. The company managed to assemble, make the journey from Ireland, and present itself at the Perth barracks only two days after war was declared.

Streets lined with cheering crowds were a common sight in the early days as troops, both regular and Territorial, were mobilised and dispatched to their war station. Friends, family and workmates would turn out to give the departing troops a rousing send-off with popular songs and stirring speeches. In many instances a party atmosphere developed at railway stations as departing troops were sent off to war with presents of food, and in many cases drink, for the long journey south.

Scotland’s Territorial battalions expected to play their part from the start. While regular Scottish battalions were mobilised for war in Europe, the Territorial Force was mobilised for home defence and increased training:

In August 1914 the Territorial Force in Scotland was in the process of completing its annual camp and was ideally positioned to respond to the mobilisation. There was a feeling at large that the army would soon be in action.

The unforeseen ability to mobilise and absorb the extra manpower necessary to come up to full establishment was not confined to the regular army. The 7th Battalion Black Watch, which was based and recruited in Fife, had gained some 332 recruits by the time it reached its war station on 7 August:

Recruiting was extremely brisk. Men flocked from all parts of the country to join their local battalion, with the result that while the marching-out state, on breaking camp at Monzie, showed a total strength of 570, the corresponding state on the morning after arrival at the war station was 902.

The 7th Battalion Royal Scots was mobilised on 4 August and, after spending the night quartered in the local drill hall, entrained on the morning of 5 August to the sound of the battalion band. Private William Begbie remembered the event:

In our company we had a few Reservists [men who had served with the army in peace time and were not liable to be called up]. Many of us who were just recruits had to listen when they were telling us what to do and what to expect. After the train started, one of the reservists said it was a long journey to the South of England and when on active service we would not get much sleep so we should take a nap when we could. To prove his point he took off his tunic, boots and trousers to have a nap. To our surprise the train stopped and a bugler sounded the fall-in. We had all taken off our equipment and put it under the seat so it was a real scramble when an NCO shouted, ‘Put your equipment on the platform and fall in with your rifles’. We had a quiet giggle when the man who had taken his trousers off had to parade without them. About 20 yards away was a bridge across the railway and some people, mostly women, started to laugh when they saw what was happening.

Lieutenant Alexander Nicol of the 5th Battalion Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders was mobilised and sent to his war station at the Western Barracks, Dundee, a converted poorhouse. Nicol spent his time guarding the Tay Bridge and conducting road patrols, and slept in a commandeered bobbin factory. In a letter to his mother he described the town as ‘a funny mixture of a place. Winding streets, slums all mixed up together. It is not bad when taken all together.’ Having moved to Dunfermline in early May 1915 in preparation for posting overseas, Lieutenant Nicol wrote:

It seems settled that we are going to the Dardanelles but whether we go to Egypt first for some more training or to the seat of war, nobody knows. Everyone really wanted to go to France where the Army has been putting up such a splendid fight against great odds, but this move is much better than remaining here so we don’t grumble. All we hope is that we are not put on garrison duty anywhere.

Nicol’s desire to avoid any form of garrison duty reflected the general desperation to get involved in the ‘real’ action.

 

 

‘SCOTS WHA HAE’

The Shirker’s Version

We’re Scots wha ne’er for Britain bled,

Scots wha’m French has never led,

An’ care mair for oor cosy bed,

Than ony victory.

This is no the day nor hour;

Wait till winters storms are owre,

We’ll aiblins then smash Wilhelm’s power,

And show our bravery.

It’s graund to read o’ foemen brave,

An’ glorious fechtin’ by the lave,

But lists o’ wounded mak’ us grave,

An sweer to cross the sea.

We’re unco prood o’ King and law’

But nothing moves us like fitba’,

Sae ither men the sword may draw,

And keep us safe and free.

Lay the Prussian Junkers low,

An’ we’ll see’d a’ in a picter show,

Hoo oor brave billies struck their blow,

An’ dared to do or die.

Sae let puir Belgium thole her pains,

An’ mourn for murdered wives and weans,

We dinna care to risk oor banes,

Or fecht to set her free.

2

‘Awa’ for a Sodjer’

As war was declared, men rushed to enlist. Eager volunteers flocked to the colours, their reasons as complex and varied as their backgrounds. Nowhere was this more evident than in Scotland, a country which, although small in size and population, nevertheless managed to provide 690,235 recruits during the war; a figure which included a higher proportion of volunteers than any other home country. Some enlisted out of a sense of patriotism or duty; others saw it as an opportunity for adventure, with memories of short-term service in the Boer War still fresh in their mind. Others saw it as relief from unemployment or the chance of escape, however temporary, from a life of drudgery. Whatever the reason, men came forward in unprecedented numbers. The demand for manpower was immediate, with Lord Kitchener making a direct appeal to the people of Scotland:

I feel certain that Scotsmen have only...

Table of contents

• Cover
• About the Author
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Preface
• 1 Mobilise for War
• 2 ‘Awa’ for a Sodjer’
• 3 Training
• 4 ‘Ower the Sea tae…’
• 5 In the Beginning
• 6 Trench Warfare
• 7 ‘Better Slush than Slaughter’
• 8 ‘Ower the Bags’
• 9 Conditions
• 10 Work
• 11 Rest
• 12 Play
• 13 Food
• 14 ‘Who Pays the Piper’
• 15 Letters from…
• 16 The End?
• Soldiers Quoted
• List of Illustrations